Canadian artist David Trautrimas has a series of digitally enhanced composite photographs entitled Habitat Machines. A little bit steampunk, a little bit post apocalyptic and a lot of drugs (just kidding), and you've got some very imaginative art. These are compositions of residences made from everyday machines like coffee pots and sprinklers. Prior to the Habitat Machines, he created a collection of factories (as opposed to residences) called Industrial Parkland, those are included in this post as well.
Habitat Machines, 2008
Waffle Iron Heights:
Iron Apartments:
Sprinkler House:
Oil Can Residence:
Vacuum Tower:
Hole Punch Flats:
Coffee Pot Towers:
Space Heater Place:
Stand Mixer Mews:
The Fishing Complex:
The Measurement District:
Razor Cooperative:
Industrial Parkland, 2006-2007
Film Projector Factory:
Cooler Factory:
Organ Factory:
Match Factory:
Lamp Factory:
Drill Factory:
The Sewing Machine Factory:
The Bicycle Factory:
Automobile Factory:
Oscillating Fan Factory:
Stapler Factory:
Toaster Factory:
Television Factory:
The artist, who just last year received the Ontario Arts Council Emerging Artist grant: above photo courtesy of Ion magazine
Talking Heads' David Byrne and the New York City Department of Transportation, in conjunction with New York art gallery PaceWildenstein, unveiled nine unique bicycle racks designed by DB and installed in various locations throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn last April. The racks will only be up for 364 days, so you've got one more month to see them in person -- or, see them all here.
Known as the force behind Talking Heads and later as creator of the highly-regarded record label Luaka Bop, David Byrne’s recent musical works include Grown Backwards, Byrne’s debut for Nonesuch Records; the Talking Heads box set; the Knee Plays CD/DVD from Robert Wilson’s 1984 stage piece the CIVIL wars; music from the HBO’s series Big Love; and Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, a collaboration with Brian Eno . Byrne is currently working on a number of upcoming musical projects including Here Lies Love, a song cycle with Fatboy Slim based on the life of Imelda Marcos.
For those of us who do not live in the New York area and did not get to see these, here are images of them, their locations, David's original sketches and his 'rackumentary' video.
above: David Byrne with his Villager rack
An avid bicyclist for almost 30 years, Byrne was invited to join the panel of jurors selected by the DOT to judge a design competition for outdoor and indoor bicycle racks. Inspired by the city's initiative, he submitted some original design ideas of his own named after specific locations and neighborhoods, which the DOT enthusiastically agreed to install for a period of 364 days.
The nine racks — in shiny red, black and silver — are intended to promote bicycling, which has been a main emphasis of the current transportation commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan.
The Bike Racks in situ:
above: The Villager Powder-coated steel, 2008 LaGuardia Place in front of AIA, NYC above: The Chelsea Powder-coated steel, 2008 West 25th Street b/t 10th & 11th Ave (in front of PaceWildenstein Gallery), NYC above: The Jersey Powder-coated steel, 2008 NW corner of 9th Ave & 39th Street, NYC above: Olde Times Square Powder-coated steel, 2008 South side of West 44th Street, west of Seventh Avenue above: The Coffee Cup Powder-coated steel, 2008 West side of Amsterdam Avenue, between West 110th and 111th Streets above: The MoMA Powder-coated steel, 2008 South side of West 54th Street, east of the Avenue of the Americas New Project, Brooklyn, NYC 2008 above: The Wall Street Powder-coated steel, 2008 North side of 82 Wall Street, west of Water Street above: The Hipster Powder-coated steel, 2008 West side of Bedford Avenue, near North Sixth Street, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn above: The Ladies' Mile Powder-coated steel, 2008 West side of Fifth Avenue, north of 57th Street (in front of Bergdorf’s)
map of locations:
David Byrne's drawings of the bike racks:
above: all nine sketches for the project by DB, Pen and ink, 2008
The Glass House Moleskine® sketchbook features sketches by 29 architects, designers, and artists inspired by the home, quotes by Philip Johnson, and blank pages for notes or sketching. A limited edition notebook, the proceeds from it go to support the preservation and maintenance of Johnson's famous architectural masterpiece, The Glass House (shown above).
This sketchbook is inspired by the site’s unique power of place, its role as a source of inspiration for architects, designers and artists, and the desire for visitors to pause, look closely, and document their observations as part of their site experience. In this spirit, the Glass House has launched a partnership with Moleskine®, the signature tool for creative minds, to produce a custom sketchbook.
The centerpiece of the notebook is Stephen Doyle's 3D glass house:
